AT&T SVP: We Want A Non-Profit Architect For Our $150,000 Membership Course In Dallas

AT&T Senior Vice President Ron Spears, heading up the Trinity Forest project in South Dallas that hopes to get some government breaks and host the Byron Nelson someday, is insisting that architects and the project manager of the new semi-private club in south Dallas work on a non-profit basis.

Why?

Because they've lumped a First Tee onto the project and the club is a non-profit.

Rudolph Bush in the Dallas Morning News reports the remarks from Spears.

“No one gets to make a profit out of this. That’s been our intent from the beginning in the way we thought about putting it all together.” Spears said. “This is a not-for-profit in every way.”

So sweet hearing a corporate officer preach the gospel of non-profiteering! And...

Senior officials at AT&T and SMU have not yet selected an architect or project manager. But Spears said he is making it clear to anyone who wants to be involved that they can cover their time and costs and nothing else.

“If you don’t buy into the mission of the club, then it may not be the club for you,” he said. “This is not something for a bunch of rich people. We’re trying to do something good for the city of Dallas, for the kids of South Dallas and to help SMU bring a national championship to Dallas.”

And the First Tee of course is at the heart of this plan...

Spears, though, indicated that the club is intended to operate in a more open and inclusive way than many of the exclusive private courses that host professional golf’s most prestigious tournaments.

The inclusion of First Tee of Dallas will help ensure that, he said.

And that’s going to be attractive to architects and project managers who Spears has already spoken to, he said.

“People are looking at it and saying, ‘I really want to get involved in something for a change that is not just a bunch of guys with lots of money building a toy for themselves,’” he said.

And how, with $150,000 memberships for the "semi-private" club, is this not a bunch of guys with money building a toy for themselves?

Thankfully, Spears and friends will pay and pay dearly for this approach.

They won't get an architect who works on the Coore/Crenshaw model of a modest fee while paying for their shaping team which works in lieu of a primary contractor.

Instead, AT&T will get an architect who puts together big pretty plans, announces he'll work for free because his life is devoted to charity as said architect then creates an arrangement with a contractor or requires the use of his preferred contractor, making his money through a side deal. Sadly, this arrangement was all too common in the Roaring 90s and led to costly change orders that only enriched the architects further.

Ultimately, assuming the quality architects demand their very reasonable fee, Trinity Forest will go the way of so many others and leave Dallas with an overbuilt, over-budget, underwhelming mess.

NCAA's Championships Coming To Golf Channel!

Let's face it, college golf has been largely irrelevant because its championships aren't on television. Sad, but true.

That's finally changing, as the television-friendly team-match play format (mens) will finally be coming to Golf Channel in 2014, and the women will start in 2015. Too late to have seen Riviera and University of Texas' thrilling win, but Prairie Dunes will be hosting in 2014.

For Immediate Release...

NCAA DIVISION I GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING TO GOLF CHANNEL
 
Men’s Golf Championships Coverage Begins in 2014, Followed by Women’s and Men’s Golf Championships in 2015
 
Golf Channel to Complement Tournament Action with Ancillary Programming and Comprehensive News Coverage On-air and Online
 
ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 17, 2012) – Golf Channel and the NCAA jointly announced today the return of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships to television beginning in 2014 with the Division I Men’s Golf Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club, in Hutchinson, Kan. The announcement was made today by Mark Lewis, NCAA Executive Vice President of Championships and Alliances and Mike McCarley, President of Golf Channel. As the fastest growing network in television in the U.S. with distribution to 140 million homes across 83 countries and territories around the world, Golf Channel will present these marquee NCAA golf championships to a worldwide audience via all its media platforms.
 
“This is the culmination of a collaborative effort between a lot of individuals over a long period of time, including the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Committees,” said Mark Lewis, NCAA Executive Vice President of Championships and Alliances. “We are excited for our men’s and women’s golf student-athletes to gain additional exposure and for the fans of the sport to be able to see up close what makes these championships so special. Partnering with the Golf Channel made perfect sense for us and we appreciate their commitment in helping to grow the audience for the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships.”
 
“We are committed to covering all facets of the game of golf and this new partnership with the NCAA will be the centerpiece of our broader commitment to covering the collegiate game,” said Golf Channel President Mike McCarley. “We look forward to introducing our viewers to the future stars of the game and tapping into the tremendous passion collegiate fans have for their schools.”
 
Golf Channel is scheduled to air three days of action from the 2014 men’s championship. Hosted by Wichita State University, the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship will feature the top collegiate golfers in America and the game’s future stars. Beginning with 30 teams and six student-athletes competing over 54 holes, an individual champion will be crowned before the top eight teams advance to the final three rounds of match play competition for the team championship.
 
Through a multi-year partnership with the NCAA, Golf Channel will air tournament action from both the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships beginning in 2015. The 2015 championships are scheduled to be contested at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., and hosted by the University of South Florida. The 2015 championships will mark the first time since 1997 the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship will air live on television.

Who won that year? Oh right, Pepperdine!

Tiger's 2012 Assessment Of Tiger, Edgar's Dinner Speech

TigerWoods.com lands the exclusive year-end wrap-up by Tiger Woods where the buried lede was the news of his Foundation taking over management of the Deutsche Bank Championship. Oh, and of course, Tiger's immense joy upon hearing the news of Tom Watson's Ryder Cup captaincy.

But the best part was Tiger's posting of the emotional Edgar Perez speech that we'd heard about during the World Challenge this year. This ought to motivate you...

Guy Who Erected Dinosaurs: "I would prefer to have Peter Senior than Tiger Woods."

The dinosaur thing was cute as was the locking out of tournament officials on the eve of the tournament, but now resort owner Clive Palmer tells Brent Read in a wide-ranging and completely disastrous Q&A that even if he gets the Australian PGA back next year (he won't), Tiger would not be his first choice.

But at least he lays the groundwork for Tiger to entertain the idea….

"Tiger Woods isn't the No 1 golfer in the world any more," Palmer said. "We don't want to look backwards, we want to look forwards. So why would you get Tiger Woods here? I would prefer to have Peter Senior than Tiger Woods.

"I am sure Peter Senior could beat Tiger Woods on a good day. I am sure he could.

"Tiger Woods has improved a lot but he's an emotional wreck and he's not a good example for kids, anyway."

As for McIlroy, Palmer said: "If you rang him now he would probably tell you unless it's at Palmer Coolum Resort, I won't come.

"We can be sure he won't come if it goes somewhere else."

Olesen In The OWGR Top 50 Club

Sean Martin explains how Thorbjorn Olesen's inactivity helped him crack the top 50 in the year's final Official World Golf Ranking and therefore earning his first Masters bid.

Geoff Ogilvy just missed the coveted top 50 ranking and all of the perks that come with it.

How did Olesen pass Ogilvy? Players are ranked in the OWGR based on average points earned per tournament in the past two years. Points earned for a specific finish decrease as time passes from that tournament; that loss in points is the reason for Ogilvy's fall in the rankings.

Martin lists the other beneficiaries of the top 50 club status.

Drutter Golf?

Steve Metsch explains the story and invention of Dino Kapadia and his "Drutter", a combination driver and putter he invented for back pain sufferers who still want to walk the golf course.

Though I'm not really sure I can visualize how the three versions of the drutter work, but I like the imaginative effort...

One has two long spikes at the bottom, letting one plant the drutter and give a good base for a longer shot, he said. He developed the club because he loves the game but is unable to play conventionally.

“One, I have a bad back. Two, I see Augusta National on TV. It’s so pretty. I want to be able to walk on a golf course and I can’t swing a club,” he said. “I can play with this.”

By pulling the slingshot portion down at different angles, a player can make the ball go various distances.

“At approximately 45 degrees, that’s when you’ll drive it the farthest,” he said.

A steeper angle will make the ball go higher, like a wedge used to approach a green, he said. Less angle makes the ball stay lower, like a 3- or 4-iron. Kapadia also has invented a game called “walkolf,” for folks who use the drutter.