Tiger's Punta Brava On Track For Fall '13 Opening

From the PR wire, amazingly detailed plans for Punta Brava's environmental stewardship efforts and golf course construction timeline for Mexico's Punta Brava, aiming to be the first Tiger Woods 18-hole design to be completed that is projecting play as early as September, 2013.

“As a development, we are proud to have engaged the world’s brightest minds in the field of sustainable golf construction, emerging clean technologies, as well as the Ensenada community, throughout the planning stages of Punta Brava. And we believe many of the innovations we achieve will have a catalytic influence across the golf industry,” added Leggat.

Course Construction Timeline

Upon completion of current conservation programs in the coming months, the first phase of golf construction consists of earthwork, fairway shaping and bunker construction. This 10-12 month phase is timed to coincide with the peak germination period of the Baja coastal desert climate (June 15th – August 31st 2013).

The second phase of construction consists of drought-resistant grassing, irrigation and drainage. Due to the mild summers in Ensenada, it is estimated the course will reach optimal root base and allow for member play as early as September of 2013.

"Phil Mickelson has quietly used his position to better the lives of a wide variety of people"

Nice idea and execution by sometimes Phil Mickelson-buddy, sometimes-antagonist Alan Shipnuck in looking at Phil's unadvertised charitable endeavors with limited cooperation from Mickelson.

Mickelson, 41, has always enjoyed a deeply personal connection with his fans, thanks to his interaction on the course and the endless autographs he signs when the round is over. (He is also beloved in the service industry because of a penchant for dispensing $100 tips.) In the wake of Evan's harrowing delivery, Mickelson has become an agent of change, beginning with an eponymous foundation that does not solicit outside contributions. Mickelson is a science nerd and the son of an Air Force pilot, so supporting education and providing for military veterans have become twin passions. In recent years he has found other creative ways to give back. "I'm lucky to be in a position to help," Mickelson says, and he'd like to leave it at that. It is up to others to tell of his impact outside of golf.

Rick Smith's Tragically Inconsistent Views On Technology

Speaking in his native Michigan and contradicting himself sentence by sentence, pro-technology instructor and course designer Rick Smith is all over the map.

Brian VanOchten reports:

“I love new technology,” Smith said. “So the ball is hot.

That's right, so what if it's juiced!

You look at the PGA Tour pros and they still hit it all over the place.

Oh, well, if you want to put it like that, okay...

I think we need to preserve tradition, and I think the driver and ball are maxed out (per USGA limits).

So if it's maxed out, then why not reel things in a tad for "tradition" purposes of using classic courses and having players play a game we can relate to?

So if technology helps people play the game, I don't see anything wrong with that.”

Now that is some good stuff! It helps people. The pros hit it all over the place. The ball is hot. We should preserve tradition and the distance is maxed out. Now that's "all over the place."

"There is reason to think par-3 courses will gain popularity."

With the opening of Bandon's par-3 course, Chris Santella posts a NY Times item on the history and possible resurgence of par-3 courses.

But although the image of par-3 courses is decidedly downscale, they need not be ugly or unchallenging. The par-3 course at Augusta National Golf Club has holes that replicate some of the greens and approach shots of the famed site of the Masters. The par-3 tournament held the day before the Masters has been televised in recent years, helping to elevate the status of par-3 golf, Whitten said. There is also a par-3 course at San Francisco’s Olympic Club, where the United States Open will be held in June.

Snippets Of The World Golf Hall Of Fame Speeches

Fingers crossed for the speeches to go up online in their entirety, but in the meantime here is a PGA Tour posted collection of moments from the inductee speeches. Oh and Tim Finchem, too.

Getting In The Mood For The Players...Agronomy Blog Edition

Whether you are interested in turfgrass management or not, you must check out the great content being posted at the TPC Sawgrass's outstanding agronomy blog. There is no shortage of videos and insights into what Tom Vlach and team are doing to make the TPC play so well.

I believe they will also be Tweeting pretty heavily during the week at the TPC Agronomy account, as evidenced by Tuesday's activity.

A sampling...

"Yeah, it would be slow, but death by typewriter is what the [bleep!] deserves."

Ron Sirak pays tribute to Dan Jenkins and there is no way you can pass up a column quoting the single greatest lede in the history of literature.

And there was this from Sirak about Jenkins' place in the world of sport:

But even more than his best-selling novels, Jenkins joined journalists Bernard Darwin and Herbert Warren Wind in the WGHOF because he reinvented sports writing. If the late Hunter Thompson gets credit for creating "Gonzo Journalism" -- the art of immersing yourself in a story and making fact read with the entertainment of fiction -- Jenkins is the guy who brought that attitude to sports, although he will hate to have his name mentioned in the same sentence with Thompson. Both blew up the form and invented a new one.