This Week And The Golf Industry Show 2012
/Posting will be a bit all over the place the next few days as I visit Las Vegas for the 2012 Golf Industry Show where superintendents,
Read MoreWhen 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
Nice, Fun Muni Faces Closure Because Of Bad Greens!?
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Thanks to reader Tom for Mark McGregor's disturbing look at the possible demise of Snyder Park, a 1929 muni that Tom says "is 6,300 yds. from the tips" and is "a wonderful old style course and a delightful walk."
City finances and no direction on how to fix bad greens may cause the city of Springfield, Ohio, to close the place. Perhaps this would be a nice salvation job for the USGA to tap its surplus and the expertise of the Green Section to save a quality place for everyday golf? Oh there I go again.
City Manager Jim Bodenmiller said in a January commission meeting that the city challenged the park district to make Snyder and Reid Park courses self-sufficient. National Trail met that goal in two of three years, but a subsidy was necessary in 2011.
City Finance Director Mark Beckdahl said in the meeting that without the subsidy, the district’s bills and vendors would have gone unpaid.
“We had a rough 2011, there’s no denying that,” Smith said. “It’s tough when you’re dealing with the weather. Not everything you do (to fix turf) works.”
Early estimates to repair the greens range from $15,000 to $20,000. National Trail will know more in a few weeks once a golf turf expert examines the course, determines why conditions deteriorated and how much it will likely cost to restore them.
The city hasn’t decided whether it will pay to redo the greens or if it will instead close the Snyder Park course.
B.C.S. Showing More Restraint Than PGA Tour!?
/Reading Pete Thamel's story in which he quotes the fastest rising executive in sports on possible changes to college football's BCS, I was struck by Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott's stance on adding events as the PGA Tour moves to a "fiscal year" calendar. It should be noted that Scott used to run tennis' WTA.
Read MoreState Of The Game Podcast, Episode 4: Greg Turner
/After a week off, episode four of State of the Game covers our favorite topic, golf architecture, with hosts Rod Morri and Mike Clayton quizzing the always fascinating former touring professional-turned-golf course architect Greg Turner, who joined in via Skype from his New Zealand home.
Read MoreDavis On Olympic's 16th: "It will play the way it did for Hogan"
/Ron Kroichick on Mike Davis's meet-and-greet with San Francisco media Monday to get us excited about the 2012 U.S. Open. The big talk centered around the 670-yard tee for the 16th hole.
“We felt this would make it a true three-shotter,” Davis said of the new tee. “It will play the way it did for (Ben) Hogan and (Arnold) Palmer in ’55 and ’66. It will be a big, big par-5.”
What about for Jack Fleck, Billy Casper, Scott Simpson and Lee Janzen?
Previously, the longest hole in Open history was No. 12 at Oakmont Country Club (outside Pittsburgh) in 2007, at a paltry 667 yards.
An unbylined AP story includes many other details on this June's U.S. Open setup and operation.
Florida Swing Possible DVR Alert: "Down The Stretch"
/For Immediate Release and what sounds potentially strong idea for a show depending on player cooperation which, as we learned from the initiative to put microphones on them, is not an easy barrier to break.
Read MoreCallaway Gets Its Next CEO
/From the Dow Jones newswire reporting that Callaway has poached Adams Golf CEO Oliver "Chip" Brewer as its new president and CEO.
Read More"The new system undoubtedly makes it harder for outsiders to crash the PGA Tour’s party."
/Sean Martin says good players will make their way to the tour, but he also mourns the likely demise of stories like Q-Schooler John Huh's Cinderella run, which will not be possible if the PGA Tour policy board votes to approve changes (and since FedEx just re-upped for $35 million based on the proposal, I'd say the votes will be there!).
Read MoreGreater Miami Velvet Ropemakers Prepare: Trump Announces Doral Purchase
/Long anticipated and confirmation finally arrives...note that the release never mentions the TPC Blue Monster. And here I was hoping for a rebranding/merger to TPC Trump Monster.
Read MoreHarding Park In Running For Another Prez Cup
/Ron Kroichick reports that the 2009 site may get another as part of the Tour's renegotiated deal with the city of San Francisco.
Mahan Motivated By Desire To Quiet Johnny And Sir Nick!
/Doug Ferguson on Hunter Mahan's impressive win over Rory McIlroy in the Accenture WGC Match Play.
Read MoreHuh? Ponte Vedra Spinsters Prepare To Twist Q-Schooler's Huhnbelievable Win
/The Golf Gods do work in mysterious ways…but I think they are making their statement about the planned demise of Q-School as a vehicle to line more pockets and value prop up the Nationwide Tour!
Read More"Would you mind walking 250 yards forward?''
/Doug Ferguson's note on spectator Larue Branch bending down to avoid Lee Westwood's 13th hole tee shot in the Sunday semi's only to find it insider her sweater. Last week Phil Mickelson had a drive finish in a man's pants!
Read MoreHats Off To Golfweek's Bracket Masters
/I'm down at 3881 with a score of 42, so I can only marvel at the two...yes two folks who had Hunter Mahan winning and a bunch of other matches picked correctly in Golfweek's bracket madness.
And with matching scores of 130, they had to go to the tiebreaker picking how many holes the final match would go and "C, MacKay" even got that right, picking 17. Nice going!
And tip of the cap to Golfweek for a smooth running bracket aided by daily update emails. Yet another reason I wish we had more match play.
Finchem: Number Of Golfers Is Growing
/Tim Finchem joined NBC's Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller for the traditional WGC-contractually-obligated-visit-by-the-Commissioner and perhaps sensing no one really expects him to say much of interest, threw out a stunning assertion.
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