Some More Topgolf Numbers: Links At El Segundo Edition

The Daily Breeze's Carley Dryden reports the city of El Segundo is returning to a plan to bring a TopGolf facility to their city after flirting with the red-hot range and bar chain three years ago.

The story offers some fun details into the projected financials.

Last week, the consultant hired to conduct a third-party analysis of the proposal told the council the Topgolf concept will bring the city nearly $210,000 in annual revenue, compared to the $5,600 it receives currently from The Lakes. The concept would produce more than 400 jobs and nearly $40 million in regional gross product, said Gene Krekorian of Pro Forma Advisors LLC.

What’s more is the sub-lessee, CenterCal, will cover the cost of much-needed improvements to the city-owned course, as the city continues to battle budget woes.

As part of the newest terms proposed by Topgolf, the Dallas-based company also will pay a $525,000 ground lease rent, escalating by 2 percent each year until the fifth year and 10 percent every five years after, will provide $400,000 in cash toward lighting on the golf course, will waive the business license sales tax credit it’s entitled to, will offer a revenue share on beverage sales, and more.

“Right here is a pot of gold for our city and all the people who live and work here,” Councilman Dave Atkinson said. “We have things that need to be repaired, and the city doesn’t have (the money for them).”

Major Changes To TPC Sawgrass Coming Soon?

The course is slated to be re-grassed after the 2016 Players and while he makes no mention of a much needed Pinehursting of TPC Sawgrass, Rex Hoggard reports that players have been briefed on possible design changes. New tees on a few holes are expected, as is a re-imagining of the bland 12th hole.

Hoggard writes:

At just 350 yards, the 12th is historically one of the Stadium Course’s easiest holes, with a small green and large mounds left of the fairway meant to create a blind approach shot.

The plan is to make the hole a drivable par 4 by knocking down the mounds, creating a water hazard, and repositioning the green, and playing it between 270 and 330 yards.

The hole was redesigned by Pete Dye during the last re-grassing and it just has not inspired.

Let's see what the details look like. However, I'm confident that anything to improve the 12th will be a positive, assuming Mr. Dye gets another crack at it. Third time's the charm!

Video: Will Mackenzie's All-World 17th Hole Recovery

This is a man who has played some backyard H-O-R-S-E in his time. My Loop write-up on one of the better up-and-downs of the year.

And the shot:

Update on 2015-05-09 12:25 by Geoff

**Matt Kuchar matched Mackenzie with this backhanded shot that salvaged a 4.

U.S. Anti Doping CEO: Tour Drug Policy Has Loopholes

As the world's top golfers are about to be subjected to more stringent drug testing in the lead-up to the Rio 2016 Games, Rex Hoggard takes a comprehensive look at what players will experience.

The biggest changes: "Whereabouts Testing" that requires players to inform the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency where they will be for one hour a day, seven days a week.

USADA officials say a smartphone app will allow competitors to report their locations instantly, but the penalty for a missed test can be severe – three whereabouts testing “failures” will count as a positive test.

Also of note: blood testing. The only way to test HGH, the most likely substance that would be abused.

But regarding the PGA Tour's policy to date, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's Travis Tygart suggests the tour policy has loopholes.

“If you have the obligation to not give a sanction or to stick the file in the drawer and not go forward, I’m not in any way suggesting that’s what [the Tour] have done, but the policy allows for that. Without any accountability elsewhere it’s hard to know for sure,” Tygart told GolfChannel.com.

“We’ve certainly seen other high-profile sports, cycling in the past, where in ’99 with Lance Armstrong’s corticosteroid positive, that’s exactly what the sport did. After the report that just came out detailing that sad saga it was clear they did it because it was going to be harmful to them and to the sport.

“That’s the pressure and the tension that you have going back to the fox guarding the henhouse. It’s awfully difficult and in our experience impossible to both promote and police your sport because you have this inherent duty to make the brand look good and not have any bad news out there.”

Oh not our fox!