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
From Doug Ferguson's AP notes column:
Clarke said he was waiting for official word, though "it would be a huge honor and privilege."
"I've been going since 1993," he said. "I know a lot of the members, and it's always a treat."
The golf course? The turtle soup? The Par 3 course?
"It's everything to do with Pine Valley," he said.
From Doug Ferguson's AP notes column. Oddly, I have to marvel more at the notion that he broke par all four rounds in his first event back. It really was an amazing performance.
Over the last year, I've become a huge fan of Sirius/XM satellite radio in large part because of the PGA Tour Radio Network's excellent tournament coverage and their even more excellent morning talk shows. Sadly, Peter Kessler has quietly noted on Twitter that his final shows are coming up over the next week after 7 years of swing tips, historical perspective and overall celebration of this great game.
"Stunned," was how Kessler put it when I messaged him on Twitter. He has been given "No reason at all" and has struggled to even get confirmation that the show has been cancelled. I can relate, I penned multiple emails to Sirius/XM's press representatives asking for comment along with an email address for subscribers to share their views on the move. I've yet to receive a reply. Twitter users can voice their feelings about the move at Sirius/XM's PGA Tour Twitter account.
No story, just one of their fun headlines suggesting someone there is getting a big kick out of the Rory hype. Thanks to reader Tom for the tip.
Sarah Morrison in the Independent shares details from a new United Nations report to be presented at the World Water Forum on the future of water usage. The good news? Golf didn't get mentioned. The bad news? Well, just read the story...
Demand for water is expected to increase by 55 per cent over the next four decades, according to a new study to be presented at the forum in France. Framing the Water Reform Challenge, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), points out that rapid urbanisation, climate change and the altering global economy are putting growing pressures on water supplies. In around 40 years' time, more than 40 per cent of the world's population – 3.9 billion people – are likely to be living in river areas in the grip of severe "water-stress". The UN warns this could also be felt in parts of Europe, affecting up to 44 million people by 2070.
It's a mixed bag for the Trump Olive Oil Company today, as Kerry Singe reports the "Trump Organization" has lost interest in buying The Point Lake and Golf Club due to member disarray and indecision. Shocking, that people of means can't agree on selling to other people of means.
Eric Trump, son of real estate mogul Donald Trump, flew to Charlotte Monday to meet with Crescent and club board members.
On Wednesday morning, Trump said, he called the board to say he was no longer interested.
"There's a lot of confusion at the club. A lack of direction," Trump told the Observer. "It's a great asset, and with a lot of capital could have been terrific. But we don't want to get bogged down with a deal that has a lot of different parties all moving in different directions at the same time."
Meanwhile, SI's Michael Bamberger watched the new "You've Been Trumped" documentary at the Miami Film Festival and came out of it feeling that filmmaker Baxter portrays Trump as a bully and blowhard, yet Bamberger finds The Donald "weirdly charismatic."
The Trump that appears in Baxter's film is a bully and a blowhard, and he comes off the same way in my friend Mike Tollin's ESPN film "Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?" (Trump! At least, that's Mike's considered view.) I don't doubt that Trump can be a bully and a blowhard, but I have a different take on him. I found Trump to be smart, open and weirdly charismatic.
But the thing I liked best about him is that he didn't take himself too seriously, or not overly so. When I was doing my reporting on Trump, he had an ugly, ongoing feud with Rosie O'Donnell. Three days a week or so there was a "Page Six" item about their Seinfeldian war over nothing. I said to Trump, "This thing with Rosie, you're loving it, aren't you?" He said, "Michael." (If you meet him and you can help him, he will learn your name and use it often.) "Rose O'Donnell is the gift that keeps giving." In other words, she kept his name in the paper, and he likes that. More recently, I've abandoned my old view. I now think Trump takes himself very seriously.
No, really? You sure Mike?
You've heard him talk about running for president and questioning Obama's birth records.
Unfortunately.
There was no wink in any of that, not that I saw. He used to talk to me about golf-course construction as a hobby, the way gardening is for other people. Now I think golf has become something more for him.
Episode 5 looks at the slow play epidemic on the local and professional levels. Rod Morri hosts yours truly, John Huggan and special guest John Small, a tournament organiser and inventor fom Australia whose Solution 240 product is achieving remarkable results in eliminating slow play at two Sydney golf clubs.
As always, you can listen via the player below, on iTunes directly, or more conveniently via an iTunes subscription. It's free! In fact, for good measure, I'll throw in a link to David Owen's Slowest Member blog rant. While supplies last.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
