Holiday Spirit: Augusta National Clubhouse...In Gingerbread

/

While we brace ourselves for a holiday Friday news dump, the holiday spirit is alive and well at Adams Golf, where they Tweeted this photo of a gingerbread Augusta National clubhouse.

 

(Potentially) Great Places In The Game: Cobbs Creek

/

Superb as Merion turned out to be as a modern major venue, when the Grey Goose 19th Hole discussion turned to other classics needing to host a major, I couldn't help but nominate Cobbs Creek in Philadelphia.

Sure, the muni has seen better days despite the best efforts of Billy Casper Golf to hold this potential gem together with little budget, but after the (mostly) successful Bethpage and Torrey Pines experiments I think we've seen how important it is to revitalize run-down public gems.

So first off, here's the discussion, which I thought was pretty compelling:

Why did I mention Cobbs Creek? Because nothing has brought better vibes to golf than the resurgence of run-down munis. And if there is an old public course of architectural significance crying out for attention, it's this one. Cobbs Creek is currently a mess architecturally. But the bones are there: grand-scale property, great golf city, strong architectural lineage and a beautiful setting.

All that is needed? $15 million and a governing body willing to deal with some red-tape. The payoff, however, could be Bethpage-esque.

Joe Bausch, a Villanova professor and lover of the classics, toured me around this gem the Monday after Merion and it was impossible not to see the potential for an East Lake/Bethpage/Torrey Pines type revitalization.

If you want to learn more about Cobbs Creek, the Friends of Cobb blog is here.

Golf Digest's David Owen visited and wrote this piece.

Joe Logan filed a MyPhillyGolf update article in May.

Golf Channel's Matt Ginella visited and filed this report.

And Brendan Prunty filed this look at efforts to get a restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner going.

Just a few midday photos by yours truly:

Senator Coburn Continues Assault On PGA Tour Practices

/

John Strege reports that Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn has released his annual "Wastebook" of 100 examples highlighting 100 examples of wasteful and low priority spending.

Following ESPN's Outside the Lines report, Coburn has a newfound love for the PGA Tour's practices.

"Despite generating over $900 million in revenue, the PGA Tour classifies itself exempt from federal income taxes on earnings," it states on page 71 of the 177-page report. "Eliminating the ability for the PGA to claim tax-exempt status could result in nearly $10 million in increases [in] federal revenue annually. Taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize sports organizations already benefiting widely from willing fans and turning a profit, while claiming to be non-profit organizations."

Most interesting this time around is how Coburn's report focuses on the PGA Tour's retirement package, laying out the backstory as to how the program developed and why he views it as a scam of sorts.

Digging taxpayers further into the golf subsidy sand trap, in 2004 Congress created yet another tax loophole for golfing superstars, who bring home millions of dollars in tournament winnings every year.

With passage of the 2004 American Jobs Creation Act, Congress granted the PGA an exemption for its unique deferred compensation structure, which allows a portion of player winnings to be put into a tax-free account based on their performance. The 2004 American Jobs Creation Act limited the use of certain types of compensation packages used to avoid taxes, but exempted the professional golfers receiving compensation packages from the PGA, further reducing their immediate tax liability.

The full cost of these handouts to the professional golfing industry are unknown because of the clever and cryptic nature of the tax loopholes. Yet, it is clear taxpayers lose more than $10 million every year, likely more, subsidizing some of the highest paid athletes in the world.