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.
Why do I have visions of PGA Tour VP's high fiving each other over Richard Oliver's San Antonio News-Express story on TPC San Antonio, where he dutifully reports on construction progress at the "AT&T Canyons Course" and the "AT&T Oaks Course."
I was chatting with a fellow writer today about Tiger Woods' injury and the accusation made by Derek Lawrenson. You may recall that Lawrenson suggested the press obediently reported his 4-6 week recovery time without skepticism about the severity of his knee condition.
Or maybe Tiger just doesn't really like to play that often anymore?
The rehab provides him a nice window to rest up and prepare for the U.S. Open while skipping Wachovia and The Players, two courses he's probably seen enough of (really, how many times can you say they're "all right in front of you"?).
Interestingly, Thomas Bonk speculates in the L.A. Times that Woods is not likely for the Memorial either and Bonk usually is spot on when it comes to guessing Tiger's schedule.
I find it hard to believe Tiger would not want one tune up event prior to Torrey Pines, but as Bonk points out, the weather at Memorial and the chance for a knee re-injury might scare him away.
Meanwhile Golf World's Tim Rosaforte files a lengthy piece on Tiger's knee. He points out the sensitive subject of whether Tiger tweaked the knee during his awkward PGA Championship fist pump, and also brings up something I've been wondering about: can Tiger really continue to keep running on the back streets of Isleworth?
Being in Las Vegas allowed him to check in with strength coach Keith Kleven, who is based there. According to sources, Kleven has been working with Woods for some time, rehabbing the knee and trying to get the game's best player to cut back on his running and heavy training -- not to mention high-impact activities such as parachuting and skiing ("the ballistic workouts," Bradley calls them), which Woods enjoys. The golfer has listened. He did not go on his annual Christmas-break trip to the slopes. In this period Woods' productivity has not suffered -- but his pain level has not subsided. Now begins the tediousness of rehab. As Woods said on his website, "The upside is I've been through this process before and I know how to handle it."
Golfweek's Gene Yasuda reports on the golf industry delegation convening upon Washington to talk up the sport and help Powell-Tate justify even more lobbying fees. A couple of items stand out:
Industry executives also made the trip to Capitol Hill to ensure their sport wouldn’t be overlooked as it was during the 2005 natural disaster that left New Orleans in ruins. Golf’s omission from the federal relief package served as a wake-up call to industry officials, who concluded many in Washington knew little about the game’s economic, environmental and societal value.Somehow I think had golf been part of the federal relief package, that would have been a public relations black eye.
“That was a public relations black eye for golf,” said Steranka, who spearheaded the legislative initiative. “Golf has never been more a part of America’s popular culture, but what is not understood and not appreciated is the tremendous economic impact of our industry and the scale of our environmental management practices.”
The environmental stuff sounded better:
At a conference at the National Press Club, Steve Mona, former CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and new chief executive of the World Golf Foundation said: “Golf has been involved in what we would term the ‘green movement’ for 2 1/2 decades.”
He provided little-known facts such as:
• Golf course irrigation accounts for 0.5 percent of the 408 billion gallons of water used per day in the U.S., as estimated by the United States Geologic survey.
• On a typical 18-hole course of 150 acres, only six acres – dedicated to tee boxes and greens – are considered intensively maintained.
• Nearly 30 percent of 18-hole courses are involved in a formal, voluntary environmental stewardship program.
You know I was just about to question the usefulness of John Hawkins' Angry Golfer column, but then he has to go and deliver a beautiful rant about those guys who show up at the Masters in their golf shoes, and follows it with gem on the excessive pricing at Pebble Beach.
Monuments such as Pebble Beach should be reasonably affordable to people who work for a living. And please, spare me the spiel about how Eastwood and his gang rescued this gem when they purchased it in 1999. This is an operation driven by lthe pursuit of profit, making one of the game's transcendent experiences a hazard of red ink to those who would most appreciate it.
I have no problem with the Pebble Beach folks charging what they can get, but I do need to hear a lot less of the sob story Hawkins refers to.
They need to know that many of us heard the numbers they're doing straight from Paul Spengler's mouth. This is no .org we're talking about.
Greg Norman said:“As a golf course architect, it is both rewarding and challenging to know that this course will be hosting the Dubai World Championship.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a number of PGA Tour events played on courses I have designed. Of course, Jumeirah Golf Estates will be showcased on a global basis and as the golf course designer, I’m proud to be a part of such a significant event.
“From my perspective I think that both the Earth and the Fire courses will be equally playable and I’m pleased with the progress that has been made on them.”
Norman was returning to Dubai for his ninth site visit and spent his time fine-tuning the course design for the Championship. The final four holes of the Earth course will, he said, offer a spectacular finish:
“Of course, I think the entire course has a great balance, but the finish will really stand out. The last four holes will measure exactly a mile, 1760 yards. I expect it will be considered one of the most challenging and exciting miles of golf, in terms of risk and reward."
Meanwhile, let's get to the important stuff:
“There were some significant changes on 7 and on 9 but everything else has been more subtle, getting the greens ready for the speed that we need them and so on. And we’ve had to allow for the infrastructure of a major tournament. That means laying cabling and getting prepared for the full hospitality suites, designing the right driving range facility, creating ease of access for parking and everything like that.”
And with the release came this totally unstaged photo in need of a caption, don't you think:
I'm just about to finish up my read of John Barton's extensive look at golf's need to go green in the May Golf Digest. While there is so much to consider in this extensive package of stories and interviews, I was shocked at the reaction Golf Digest has gotten from some readers (Bob Carney shares some of the letters here and here).
Can you imagine what a sad state of affairs we are in when someone wants their subscription cancelled over a call for more environmentally sensitive practices?
Thomas Bonk details some of the pre-U.S. Open changes to Torrey Pines and they may surprise you. Or, you may not care.
No. 4, 488-yard par four: The hole that runs along the ocean, the fairways have been widened out to the right, up near the green.
No. 5, 453-yard par four: The fairway has been widened in the drive zone, which should bring bunkers into play.
No. 13, 614-yard par five: If the shortest teeing area is used at 5390 yards, the fairway to the left, up against the canyon, is widened.
No. 18, 573-yard par five: A risk-reward hole, the fairway is widened out near the pond and wraps left around the pond.
Of course, the USGA did narrow a couple of fairways, the 612-yard 9th where three yards were taken off the left of the fairway in the third shot area and the 435-yard 14th where the fairway was narrowed up beyond the drive zone.
The Open is still seven weeks away, and that's plenty of time to start getting ready for the chatter about the brutal, 614-yard par five - if it's played from the farthest tee, which would require a 250-yard carry over a canyon.
Golfweek's Bradley Klein talks to a variety of people with different ties to the game, and contemplates whether golf is really recession proof.
Scott Peters, owner of New Hampshire-based Golf & Ski Warehouse, is witnessing first-hand such changes in consumer behavior.
Though he experienced “a good summer and Christmas for 2007,” Peters says “the first three months of 2008 have been down” compared with the year before.
He also blames more stringent USGA equipment limitations for making consumers skeptical whether next-generation products are truly superior to their predecessors. Mix such wariness with economic woes and, Peters says, “There’s a bit more hesitation out there for buying new equipment.”
This would assume that a decent portion of the golfing public even knows what the USGA has done, which I suppose is possible. Or could it be that people simply realized that it's silly to keep a driver every year...or even more often than that?
For a good chuckle read Derek Lawrenson's doting account of Monty's wedding. A teaser:
For all the unrivalled splendour of the setting — whoever heard of two unbroken days of sunshine on the bonnie banks in April, for Heaven's sake? — and the lavish financial outlay, the most memorable thing about the day was the unforced happiness.
What really makes it fun though is the item a few slots below it on Tiger's knee:
So, what do we make of the fact that a supreme athlete like Tiger Woods requires six weeks to get over arthroscopic knee surgery?
The American press obediently reported it like he was having a routine operation. But if footballers are back playing a fortnight after having cartilages repaired through arthroscopic surgery, how standard can the procedure be when Woods needs three times that length of recuperation before he can play golf?
Obediently reported?
Well, based on that account of Monty's wedding, he would know about that kind of reporting.
This week marks the 83rd re-opening of the TPC Las Colinas after a renovation. Naturally, everyone is thrilled about the second coming of Deere Run, with talk of "traditional" features and fulfillment of Lord Byron's dreams.
Player consultant J.J. Henry:
"To see everything come full circle, I can't believe what kind of shape the golf course is in," Henry said Tuesday, when course officials showed off the renovations. "We always talked about what would Byron want. ... I think he is up there smiling today at what was accomplished."Is there another form of waterfall besides cascading that I'm not familiar with?
Traditional square tee boxes and white-sand bunkers throughout the course and the cascading waterfalls next to the 18th green are among some of the changes.
Trip Kuehne: "I've played here since 1986 and this is really the first time you could get on the tee box on every single hole and you knew exactly what you needed to do. D.A. has told you where you need to place the ball on every single tee shot and the challenge is to get out there and place it. It's a very playable golf course, and it's in great shape."
Bill Nichols talks to EDS CEO Ron Rittenmeyer about dissatisfaction with the PGA Tour. I don't recall reading a CEO being so upset with the tour since Booz Allen's Ralph Shrader, and we know how well that worked out.
Rittenmeyer, talking about Tim Finchem:
"Our title sponsorship comes to a close in two years, and if he wants us to continue, he's going to have to come to the table and help us," Mr. Rittenmeyer said.Regarding the current date...
"We kind of got jerked around a bit, and I'm not happy about that," Mr. Rittenmeyer said. "I made it kind of a personal goal of mine to see this course improve. So now we've accomplished the course. The next thing is to accomplish the right dates to field the best set of players. And the PGA Tour has got to help market this to their players."And on the FedEx Cup...
Mr. Rittenmeyer said the Tour's new FedEx Cup reduces the importance of regular events. The season-long format, which debuted last year, includes three playoffs for the FedEx Cup and the Tour Championship. Points earned in regular events determine playoff seeding.
"I wasn't happy with the FedEx Cup, and they know that," Mr. Rittenmeyer said. "They did it to get some more excitement, some more money in the game. But we didn't get a vote, and we didn't get to discuss it."
Boo Weekley successfully defends his Heritage Classic title, drops three aint's and two reckons, and as usual provides more transcript entertainment than the rest of the PGA Tour's finest combined.
Q. Did you ever doubt yourself today?
BOO WEEKLEY: Yes, once or twice I did. I mean, I just kind of aggravated -- like on 10, I got probably the lowest point I got all day was on 10. They just put us on the clock, you know, we're under two minutes or two hours on our time, you know, and it's kind of hard to believe they had us on the clock. The guys in front of us were playing pretty quick. It kind of got aggravating and, okay, there you go, you kind of give it away now hitting shots like that. That was my lowest point.
It was the guys in front going fast, not Boo and buds playing slow. I like that rationalization.
Q. Do you think the adrenaline and your emotional state today had anything to do with you getting the rights?
BOO WEEKLEY: No, ma'am, I had the rights all day. I had them all week with the driver and a little bit with the iron. I was standing on the tee box or on the practice round this morning and I had the pulls.
This golf is a crazy game. That's why I only want to do it for so long and get out of it (laughter).
Not yet please.
Q. Golf has always had an elitist label on it. Do you think you might be an inspiration to guys out there who talk like you and chew like you?
BOO WEEKLEY: I'm pretty sure I do. I hope it's mostly the kids. That's who you want to touch anyway is the kids. And I hope they don't chew.
SI's Gary Van Sickle filed this Boo tribute on the golf.com Press Tent blog, including this killer Boo story (along with one other, so hit the link.)
I was standing behind the 18th green at the end of Saturday's round when CBS commentator Jim Nantz climbed down from the telecast tower and ambled toward the players' scoring trailer. I talked to him for a minute but he was interested in getting some face time, he said, with Boo. They had never met, Nantz said.
When Boo signed his card and came out, Nantz was there to introduce himself and have a short, smiling conversation.
Later, after Boo finished another rollicking interview session in the press tent, I asked him about meeting Nantz. "Wail (that's southern for "Well"), he said he just wanted to put a face with a name," Boo said. "He was real nice."
"What was the conversation about?" I asked, "Did he ask any deep questions?"
Boo shook his head. "I don't even know what he does," he said.
"He's a golf commentator," I said. "I'm sure you've heard him on college basketball or football."
"Wail, either I don't watch much of that or I just don't listen," he said, non-plussed.
...unless of course he decides to play all four playoff events this year.
Which reminds me, I've got to go check the FedEx Cup standings.
But first, Ochoa's five of six this year and just won each of the last four weeks, taking the Ginn Open. That's insane.
Larry Dorman reports that she is finally taking a few weeks off.
The Telegraph's Andrew Alderson shares more details than you ever wanted to know about the big wedding day. And brace yourself, the lede is a heartstring puller.
After conceding that his obsession with golf helped to end his first marriage, Colin Montgomerie might have been expected to turn his back on the sport when he tied the knot a second time yesterday. Not a bit of it.I tell you, what he has had to overcome!
Professional golfers invited included the Open champion Padraig Harrington, Sam Torrance and his Ryder Cup colleagues Lee Westwood and Paul Casey.No mention of the golf writers invited? Curiously, none filed stories...
The details of the wedding and golfing activities were shrouded in secrecy, with an 800-acre, five-day "exclusion zone" around the course.Ah, the perks of royalty.
However, Prince Andrew was unable to attend - he was at the christening of his nephew, the Earl and Countess of Wessex's son, Viscount Severn, at Windsor yesterday afternoon.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
