Acushnet Sale: Press Release And Knee Jerk Reactions, Vol. 1

E. Michael Johnson has the details, the press release is below, and here are a few quick reactions:

- Golf publications and the Golf Channel will live to see another day if you believe the prognosticators who said a purchase by an "endemic" would have meant consolidation that might end entities that rely on ad buys from the industry. Same deal goes for touring professionals.

- Ten percenters across the land are rejoicing at the thought that Wally Uihlein is staying on as CEO (until he gets tired of commuting halfway around the world to meet his bosses), meaning he's not retiring to manage son Peter's career.

- Sadly, another win for the hedge funders. Not only does Bill Ackman force a sale, but they get lucky and sell to folks who appear---appear--to want the company because it is well-run, well-positioned and stable, not to pick up the golf ball brand and peddle the rest off.

- $1.23 billion is a higher number than many predicted and gives the golf business something to feel good about heading into the weekend. Okay, I'm reaching now.

I'm sure some of you will have different takes and are much more cynical than I when it comes to these press releases. Speaking of which, here's the release:

ACUSHNET COMPANY TO BE ACQUIRED BY GROUP LED BY FILA KOREA LTD. AND MIRAE ASSET PRIVATE EQUITY

Agreement Reached for World's Leading Golf Equipment Company to be Purchased from Fortune Brands

Fairhaven, MA (May 20, 2011) – Acushnet Company announced today that its parent company, Fortune Brands, Inc., has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of the company to a group led by Fila Korea, Ltd., the owner of the Fila brand globally, and Mirae Asset Private Equity, the largest private equity firm in Korea.

Acushnet Company is one of the largest golf equipment companies in the world with annual sales of more than $1.2 billion in 2010.  Its premium and storied brands include Titleist, the #1 ball in golf and a leader in high performance golf clubs, and FootJoy, the #1 shoe, glove and performance outerwear brand in golf.

“The Acushnet Company has long been the trusted steward of two of golf’s most revered and iconic brands, and has perpetuated the longest running records of golf equipment success in the game,” said Wally Uihlein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Acushnet Company. “The Fila Korea and Mirae group understands and appreciates our golf industry leadership, passionate associates, and unique and enduring culture. Together, with our new owners, our team is looking forward to strengthening and building upon the global success of the Titleist and FootJoy brands.”

Right out of the press release manual! I smell a v-word coming.

After the acquisition, Acushnet will remain as a standalone company through separate operation from Fila Korea, with its worldwide headquarters remaining in Fairhaven, Mass., and led by Uihlein and Acushnet’s current management team.

The Acushnet Company has a history of successful growth and evolution. The Golf Division was founded in 1932, with the first Titleist golf ball brought to market in 1935. Fortune Brands acquired the Acushnet Company in 1976, and Acushnet acquired FootJoy in 1985. Acushnet’s net sales in 1975 were $51 million and with the combined strength of both brands have grown more than twenty-fold over the past thirty-five years.

No v-word, just a plug for Titleist's and Footjoy's that I had to delete.

“We appreciate what Fortune Brands has contributed to the growth of our business over the last thirty-five years,” said Uihlein. “The support, encouragement and guidance they provided helped fuel our leadership position in the industry and marketplace.  Together, we achieved record-setting milestones.”

No love for Bill Ackman for forcing this sale so that he can repave his helicopter pad with gold?

Established in Italy in 1911, Fila is a leading sport and leisure footwear and apparel brand that is distributed worldwide. The group, led by Fila Korea and Mirae, also includes the National Pension Service of Korea, the fourth largest pension fund in the world, and Korea Development Bank, Korea’s largest government-owned bank.

“The acquisition of Acushnet transforms our platform with a stable of premier world class brands,” said Gene Yoon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fila Korea, Ltd. “We are equally excited to embrace Acushnet’s exceptional management team led by Wally Uihlein. With our extensive knowledge and reach in Asia, we believe that the Acushnet brands have incredible new opportunities for growth in the emerging markets in Asia.”

“We are very impressed with what Acushnet management and employees have accomplished so far,” said JH Ryu, CEO, Mirae Asset Private Equity. “We will fully support the company to remain focused on its core golf expertise and continue driving the growth of the industry.”

"Titleist and FootJoy are powerful global golf brands,” said Uihlein. “The fact that Asia Pacific represents over 30% of the world's total golf equipment spending, and that South Korean golfers are among the most passionate and organized in the game, is testament to the significant investment in the Acushnet Company by the Fila Korea and Mirae group. They recognize the strength of the brands and opportunities for growth particularly in golf's emerging regions.”

The sale is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and the transaction is expected to close this summer.

DVR Alert: ESPN On 10th Anniversary Of Casey Martin Case

For Immediate Release...

A decade ago, Casey Martin was at the center of a debate that transcended sports. An All-America and teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford, Martin turned pro, despite an incurable and debilitating disease weakening his right leg. He asked the PGA Tour for permission to use a cart in competition under the Americans with Disabilities Act. When the Tour refused, citing the integrity of competition, Martin sued. A four-year legal battle culminated in a Supreme Court ruling, May 29, 2001, granting Martin the right to use a cart on the PGA Tour. Shelley Smith catches up with Martin in his hometown of Eugene, Ore., where he is now head golf coach at Oregon. This report will also feature rarely seen video from the January 1998 depositions of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, each supporting the PGA Tour.

Bet The King and The Bear are thrilled to see those grainy, embarrassing depo's surface!

“I don’t have ill will towards the Tour or Tim Finchem at all, I really don’t. I look back and say ‘thanks’ in a lot of ways, because certainly when you have that tension and that drama, it makes for a great story and people want to be around it and it’s kind of made me in a lot of sense, who I am today.” -- Casey Martin, on the four-year legal struggle with Commissioner Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour
 
“Casey has exceeded my expectations over the past 10 years. I would’ve thought that he would have either had a fracture or had enough discomfort that he would request an amputation, so I anticipate that will be the case in the future, but I would love to be wrong.” – Dr. Donald Jones, Martin’s orthopedist since the 1970s
 
“My career as a golfer wasn’t a great one, I’m not going to lie. I was frustrated most of the time. It’s hard to compete at the PGA Tour level, period, no matter who you are, let alone if you have a physical disability that you’re dealing with and then all the attention that comes with it.” -- Martin, on making the cut only once in a PGA Tour event after the Supreme Court’s 2001 ruling
 
“We were only required to provide a cart in cases where it was absolutely necessary for being able to play the game at all. It’s kind of like they (the seven Supreme Court justices who decided for Martin) wanted to give him a cart, but they wanted to protect the basis of why we were making the argument.” – Finchem, on his view that the Supreme Court’s decision for Martin was a “win-win”

Ahhhh...that's the spinmeister we love and know!

Viewing times:

Outside the Lines (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, ESPN; re-air 10 a.m. ESPN2)
The Sporting Life with Jeremy Schaap (Friday, 10 p.m., ESPN Radio)

And a preview...

Trying To Makes Sense Of The Volvo Match Play

Okay, I tried to read the format description of this week's 24-player Volvo World Match Play Championship's eight groups of three, round robin format. After my third try, I've given up. Anyone care to help this blogger?

Round robin group matches will be played on Thursday and Friday with players grouped according to their Official World Golf Ranking as of the Monday of the Championship. The three players in each group will play each other once. Players will be awarded two points for a win and no points for a loss. If a match is tied after 18 holes each player shall receive one point.

The top two players in each group will progress to the knock-out stages. Should, after all matches have been played, two or more players are tied on points the following criteria will be used to determine the order:

   i) Where two players are tied within a group (in any position within the group) then their specific head to head match result will be used to identify which player is placed higher

   ii) If two or more players are still tied then those players will compete in a hole-by-hole play-off.

   iii) If all three players win one match in their respective group then all three players shall play-off.

The knock out stage will consist of the last 16 and quarter-finals, played on Saturday, and semi-finals and final, played on Sunday. All matches will be over 18 holes.  There will be no third and fourth place play-off on Sunday.

Here's the day one roundup, which I'd like to get excited about since golf needs fresh formats. Especially a creative use of match play. But so far this one is just not doing it for me.

"For him to come back after all of this, it's going to be a hell of a mountain to climb."

I've been out the last two days, so catching up on reading and was shocked by the frankness of statements from Curtis and Azinger in Doug Ferguson's column on the prospects of Tiger ever returning to peak form.

"I thought it was a slam dunk before Thanksgiving a year-and-a-half ago," two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange said. "I started having serious doubts after his withdrawal last week. He's losing valuable time right now with injuries, swing coaches, reinventing himself. You don't have that much time in a career to break those kind of records.

"For him to come back after all of this, it's going to be a hell of a mountain to climb."

And Zinger, who Tweeted similar thoughts last week:

"The big unknown is the severity of the problem," Azinger said. "The mental aspect still must be addressed - having the ability to find someone he can talk and talk with. He's angry at himself, angry at the world, angry at people tearing him down. But physically, for the first time, I'm starting to wonder."

"When the last putt falls at Congressional, the curtain will close on the Jones era of Open doctoring."

John Garrity tells us the era of Rees Jones messing with U.S. Open venues appears to be ending after this year's Open at Congressional.  

They point out that other designers have been hired to prepare seven of the next eight U.S. Open sites. (The USGA has assigned its Open venues through 2019, with the exception of 2018, which means it's quite likely that the earliest Jones's services could be called upon again would be in 2020, when he'll be 78.)

"So I may be the PGA Doctor," Jones says with an optimistic lilt, alluding to his redesign of the Atlanta Athletic Club's Highlands course for this year's PGA Championship and to his completed renovation of New Jersey's Baltusrol Golf Club for the 2016 tourney. "Or as one article called me, the 'PGA Physician.' " In certain countries, he adds, he'll still be the Open Doctor because he's toughening up national championship venues in China, Japan and Canada.

That's a relief.

As for player criticism of his no reward, all risk, drab-bunker, clumsily shaped features:

Jones dismisses such critiques with the air of a man brushing lint off his slacks. "My courses are only controversial," he says, "for the players who play poorly."

He also used the opportunity to rip the minimalist movement. 

Jones, while agreeing that he's a strategic designer, asks why a tournament venue would hire an architect who wasn't. "Today's middle-aged architects are really into aesthetics," he says, taking a shot at the naturalist trend in course design. "They love their wilderness bunkers, which tend to be expensive to build, hard to maintain and difficult to play out of."

Here's a challenge I guess I'm going to have to look into. 

Let's get a Rees design contract and fee for his shapers, and compare his fee with the project cost for employing Coore and Crenshaw's shapers.

And the, let's take the courses involved and find out whose bunkers are more to maintain, the ones that are trimmed a few times a year versus the rotund pieces that are mown with fly mowers every two weeks. 

2018 Ryder Cup Choice Is A "Proper" Course

There hasn't been this much swooning over a Von Hagge design since, well, never. Lawrence Donegan on the common $en$e choice for the '18 Ryder Cup and why Spain didn't get more consideration.

The truth is relations between Seve Ballesteros, and by extension his family, and the tour hierarchy had been poor for years. This isn't to say that those involved in taking today's decision were swayed by memory of that fractious history – the bidding process was overseen by independent observers, remember – although it is entirely possible it made them even less inclined than most to be swayed by the emotion of the Ballesteros-backed Spanish bid and even more inclined to go with their instincts.

The European Tour is a business. Golf in Europe is a business and awarding the 2018 Ryder Cup to France was a business decision. The good news is that it was also the right one.

Paul Mahoney says the mix of links golf and inland American golf is "proper," though I'm not sure what that means.

Sentimental voters were disappointed that Spain lost out, but the Ryder Cup is all about big business for the European Tour. "Follow the money" is always the best bet when trying to discover the truth hidden behind bidding wars. (See: the Olympics and soccer's World Cup.) Recent European Ryder Cup history has centered on the deep pockets of Sir Terry Matthews (Celtic Manor), Dr. Michael Smurfit (the K Club), and Jaime Patino (Valderrama). France 2018 had the full backing of the French government. It was a fait accompli. And the right decision.

Jack: Pitching 12-Hole Concept To Finchem

Joe Biddle reports on Jack Nicklaus' visit to "The Vinny" on Sunday, a charity fundraiser for Vince Gill.  Seems Jack was chatty about the game. Thanks to reader Jim for this.

“Since 2006, we’ve lost 20 percent of the women in the game and we’ve lost 20 percent of the juniors in the game,” Nicklaus said. “If you’re the CEO of a corporation and have those numbers, you say, ‘What do I do?’ The professional game is great. The showcase is great.

“But is the showcase bringing people into the game, or is it running them out of the game? It’s a good question.”

Jack feels the pro game is no longer relatable to the average man, woman and junior.

“Quite often, by local knowledge, he would beat me,” Nicklaus said. “You go to these courses today and play the club champion at 7,500 yards and you run in Phil Mickelson and there’s no chance in the world (the club champion) is going to beat them.

“I worry about that as it relates to what is happening in the game.”

Jack's now on the 12-hole kick.

Looking forward, Nicklaus believes cutting a round of golf to 12 holes would be more palatable for golfers who don’t want to make it a day-long process.

He tossed the idea past Finchem, who pooh-poohed it six or seven months ago. Finchem talked to Nicklaus at the Masters this year, and Nicklaus said Finchem is starting to consider the idea.

Now Jack just has to figure out how to make it Tim's idea!

At two of Nicklaus’ courses — Muirfield and the Bear’s Club — he had them make up 12-hole scorecards.

“My seniors are loving it,” he said. “The game is so difficult to start with. You take kids. They start basketball at a 6-foot hoop, 7-foot hoop, small ball, big ball.... All the sports work their selves up. In golf, you start with a set of clubs and a hard golf ball and it’s not easy.

“It’s the health of the game, the growth of the game, keeping people in the game, that I’m interested in.”

There's a video accompanying the story as well:

"I think golfers are more aware than ever that the game lost its way, and a correction is needed."

Jaime Diaz reports on the latest regarding Barney Adams' noble campaign to get people playing forward.

Adams posted his findings on the Internet (in the January Golf Digest, he advocated moving up a set of tees), and he received a positive response. But his persistence at lobbying for his idea was most meaningfully rewarded by American golf's powers that be. Beginning in late May, the USGA, the PGA of America and the GCSAA will begin a campaign -- with the tentative handle of Play It Forward -- to convince golfers to move up. It will start with television segments during the Senior PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women's Open. Then the organizations will urge course operators across the nation to set aside two weeks beginning July 5 in which they ask customers to play from a shorter set of tees, following Adams' guidelines.

And will there be incentives in the form of reduced green fees? If not, I'm guessing this campaign won't register.

"That brings in shotmaking, even for an average player, and that's what really makes the game interesting." For all that, Adams doesn't believe scoring will be dramatically affected.

"Maybe a 13-handicap becomes a 10," he says. "That's where the USGA would have to really get involved, to make sure handicaps don't lose equitableness.

"This is about a change of habits, which is always hard," Adams says, "but I think golfers are more aware than ever that the game lost its way, and a correction is needed."

This is where I just don't get as excited about Adams' cause as some. He's absolutely right that people should play shorter courses but how can than happen when, contrary to what he says, people are using today's equipment to hit the ball longer? Courses were not lengthened because architects thought it would be fun for the average man, but in reaction to the demands of golfers, course owners and safety concerns. Reversing that trend will be tough. Still, it's certainly a campaign worth getting around because they are not advocating consumerism as the savior of golf.

Ryder Cup 2018: "This great victory is for everyone involved in French golf."

Mitch Phillips reports that France and Le Golf National won the 2018 Ryder Cup bidding.

The 2018 Ryder Cup will be played on Le Golf National course in Versailles, near Paris after the French bid won a five-way contest on Tuesday to host the biennial match against the United States.

European Tour officials made the announcement at their base in Wentworth, saying one of the main draws had been the "outstanding spectator viewing." France will become only the second country in continental Europe to stage the Ryder Cup after Spain in 1997.

"We always believed. The world of French golf was united and that did not escape European Tour bosses," Pascal Grizot, chairman of the Ryder Cup Committee at the French Golf Federation, said in a statement.

"This great victory is for everyone involved in French golf."

This Euro Tour site story quotes the disappointed Spaniards, who had made a late surge and had the most impressive looking bid. But we know looks meant little in this contest!

Following the announcement, Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation (RFEG), said: “Madrid would have been a fantastic venue for the Ryder Cup in 2018, but unfortunately our dream has not come true. I honestly believe we could not have produced a better bid, and I have been extremely proud to be a part of it. I hope that Spain will one day be given the opportunity to host the Ryder Cup again.  Congratulations to France on their victory, I’m sure they will do a fantastic job”.