Stevie Williams: Ko Coach Firing "Unethical" & "Ill-Timed"

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Nice to see looper extraordinare raise several vital questions about the firing of Lydia Ko's coach Guy Wilson in this Radio New Zealand interview, calling it a "staggering" situation and "not the way to start your pro career."

He also says Ko's caddie for the last 6-8 weeks has been let go and questions if this is all driven by her signing with IMG. Williams also points out that Wilson was never any significant amount of money for his 11 years worth of work. Thanks to Stina for sending this. (You may have to use an alternative browser as I couldn't get it to open in Firefox.)

Holiday Spirit: Augusta National Clubhouse...In Gingerbread

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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

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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: