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
As he's done with Adam Scott at the Masters, Michael David Murphy has put together a supercut of all available Phil Mickelson swings from the 2013 Open Championship final round 66.
Alex Myers with the photo and details of Luke List's new irons lacking numbers but instead featuring his Tony Robbins inspired mantra's favorite nicknames.
Uh, "'Merica"?
Kind of makes you long for the Mashie Niblick!
Ron Sirak on Inbee Park's opening 69 at the Old Course in her quest to win a fourth straight major. The normally reliable putter had a few slip-ups on the way in.
"There were a couple of bad drives and a couple of bad putts on the back nine, but it's the first round and could have been much better," she said. "A little bit disappointing, but I'm glad that I've done that in the first round instead of the final round. I'm looking to improve the next three days."
Park blamed the back-to-back three putts on Nos. 16 and 17 -- something that happens for Park about as often as Yankees legend Mariano Rivera blows a save -- on the fact that she had faced no long lags putts until late in the round.
Park is, after all is said and done, perfectly positioned after 18 holes and perfectly prepared to deal with the mental challenge ahead.
That's the premise of Bloomberg reporter Nikhil Hutheesing's story which says the economy is improving based on the numbers in golf.
Well, when people retire, some want a house on a golf course with open views and plenty of green, even if they aren't golfers. There’s your existing-home-sales data. When the economy is improving, golfers spend more on golf clothes, golf vacations, greens fees and the like (consumer spending). And as demand picks up, more golf courses, and homes, are built and old ones spruced up (housing starts).
Right now, golf is pointing to an economy that's out of the rough (click here for a closer look at the golf economy). Steven Ekovich, managing director of the National Golf & Resort Properties Group, a division of real estate investment firm Marcus & Millichap, says financing is returning to the industry. He estimates that the number of distressed assets has fallen by 65 percent since 2009 and says that investor sentiment is improving.
"As the economy heals, we expect to see course values go up this year for the first time in six years," he says.
One reason things are looking better: Lenders that were saddled with loads of distressed debt in golf courses when the housing market plummeted have unloaded much of that debt, in part by selling courses. The pace of sales of 18-hole championship-length golf courses slowed from 86 in the first half of 2012 to 55 in the first half of this year. That means the courses that made it through this period are financially healthier, Ekovich says.
Considering it took almost six hours the last time they played the Ricoh Women's Open at St. Andrews, this from Susan Simpson of the Ladies Golf Union seems optimistic.
"This week is the only week we deal with the professionals and we've obviously got to deal with two other organising bodies too. But we have full support from the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour for our slow-play policies. The rules officials out there are under instruction to come down hard on any slow play. We've set four hours and 30 minutes and we think that's achievable."
Gene Wojciechowski showed Inbee Park's photo to the townspeople and Scots a couple of weeks ago and, well, she wasn't exactly well known or conjuring up the enthusiasm that Bobby Jones managed.
The first and last player to win four majors in a calendar year is Bobby Jones -- and that was in 1930. The first and last player to win four professional majors in a calendar year is nobody. So, yeah, this Inbee Park thing is a big deal. Plus, she could win No. 4 at the long-recognized home of golf, where everyone knows Park when they see her, right?
"Is it Nancy Lopez?" says a veteran Old Course caddie as I show him the photo of Park.
Uh, that would be a big negatory. Lopez won three majors in her entire career; Park has that many in the past three-plus months. But never mind that. The woman in the photo is clearly of Asian descent; Lopez is of Hispanic descent.
Regardless, Inbee's Grand Slam quest begins at 7:03 am Thursday.
The enthusiasm in his voice is pretty telling. Someone misses Muirfield!
Bob Harig reports:
"The greens are spotty, and it'll be interesting to see what they do because they were running just under 9 on the Stimp [Stimpmeter]," Woods said. "They don't have much thatch to them, so it'll be interesting to see what they do for the tournament and how much they're able to speed them up with kind of a lack of grass."
Look at those mounds! And that width! 
The description from the press release announcing the 2015 Presidents Cup venue selected by the PGA Tour:
Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea features a par-72, 7,413-yard Signature Golf Course designed by the Golden Bear, and offers world-class amenities, including an award-winning, 60,000-square-foot clubhouse. For The Presidents Cup 2015, the course has undergone some minor renovations and the holes rerouted to accommodate hospitality and the match-play format. Songdo IBD is a joint undertaking by Gale International, POSCO E&C, and Incheon City and a model of international collaboration. Songdo IBD is globally recognized as the world’s foremost smart, sustainable city-scale development. In 2012, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) selected a site in Songdo as the home for the GCF Secretariat. It is believed that many of the sustainable infrastructure and technological innovations being pioneered in Songdo will be applied to GCF-funded projects in developing nations.
Nick Price was probably a little more blunt about his attempts get the Presidents Cup format changed, all but saying the event will struggle if something isn't done.
An unbylined SkySports report was one of the few to report Price's comments that might have had Commissioner Finchem longing for a Greg Norman captaincy.
"When you've only got four pairings and you've got 12 guys to choose from, that's a lot easier because you take your best players.
"The Europeans put out the eight best players they can. It would be really interesting to see if the Ryder Cup was played under the Presidents Cup points system what the outcome would be."
Price and Ernie Els put the idea of a change of format to PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, who has opted to retain the 34-match schedule for this year's contest.
"Initially Tim was receptive and then he phoned me back three weeks later and said he wasn't prepared to change," added Price. "He didn't think it needed a change. Ernie and I were really disappointed with the outcome.
...which rules out the 2015 Scottish Open going to Turnberry as many had suspected was the hope for a Scottish Open rota (of sorts). The news should bode well for Renaissance Club's hopes of hosting in 2015.
This will be the second time Turnberry hosts the Ricoh Women's British Open.
Barry Svrluga looks at The Donald (Trump)'s purchase of Lowes Island Club's two courses, the redesign since and the possibility of luring a PGA Championship to the facility.Maybe the only intriguing storyline at the WGC Bridgestone is Rory McIlroy's attempt to kickstart his season as he did last year. 
Derek Lawrenson in the Daily Mail wonders if it's simply a matter of losing focus while noting an alarming number for the European Tour: McIlroy is 84th in the Race to Dubai where only 60 qualify. McIlroy has four starts to get into the top 60.
Kevin Garside in The Independent makes a case that "McIlroy’s problem is every player’s problem. It’s called form. And no game demands more of body and mind than golf."
I'm just still worried about his dental pain.
**Jeff Rude on Rory's search for answers taking him to Northern Ireland. No mention of a dentist visit.
After missing the Open Championship cut at Muirfield, he worked on his swing with coach Michael Bannon and played a few rounds with buddies back home in Northern Ireland. Bannon’s TrackMan, a golf radar device that measures aspects such as club delivery and launch angle, gave McIlroy instant feedback about his motion. Golf with his pals, though, might have been more beneficial.
“We play so much golf on Tour, you sort of forget why you play the game,” McIlroy said. “You play the game because you love it. (Playing with them was) something I really enjoyed. I have an attitude change.”
What’s more, McIlroy worked on his putting Tuesday and Wednesday in Akron with putting coach Dave Stockton, the winner of two PGA Championships. McIlroy left those sessions saying he felt in a “better place” with his stroke.
“I feel I have everything I need to go forward,” he said.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
