Bloomberg: Golf Course Deduction Currently Safe But Facing Increased Scrutiny In Trump Era

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As Republican tax reformers are eliminating many write-offs, the current House version of a new tax bill currently includes the long-controversial deductions for golf course owners promising never to develop their land. While the "loophole" has come close to being closed, it's getting new attention with President Donald Trump's ownership of golf courses using the deduction in ways that contradict the spirit of the law.

Dan Wilchins and Prashant Gopal, reporting for Bloomberg, present a balanced picture, including the important counterpoint to arguments for eliminating the deduction and the relatively small amount of revenue that would be generated by closing the loophole.

In some cases, the tax benefit can make sense. There are communities where golf courses are some of the only open space available. Without the easements, an owner might be tempted to sell out to the highest bidder, which might develop housing on the space, said Sylvia Bates, director of standards and educational services at the Land Trust Alliance, a conservation group.

But in practice, the deductions that land owners take for golf courses are enormous compared with the conservation value, said Ruth Madrigal, a tax lawyer who worked on conservation easements for the U.S. Treasury department during the Obama administration. A developer can build homes and a nearby golf course, get a conservation easement on the links and claim a deduction that can pay for the entire development, she said.

Yes, It's Early To Be Talking About Olympic's 2032 Ryder Cup

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The half-zips were put in storage and in an apparent not to San Francisco circa 1988, the sweatervests were out in full force as the PGA of America announced its new partnership with Olympic Club.

Ron Kroichick with all of the gory details from Wednesday's rollout, attended by O-Club member Barry Bonds, who dressed like he was attending a press conference to announce the awarding of a PGA and a Ryder Cup.

Of course, there was the question of why anyone needs to know this given that the 2032 Ryder Cup is fifteen years away, addressed by Kroichick:

San Francisco also makes perfect sense as a Ryder Cup host, given the city’s international flavor. It will be an event featuring players from throughout the U.S. and Europe, unfolding in an area known for its diversity of cultures.

The only catch: We must wait 15 years.

This uncommon lag time prompted more than a few snickers since the news filtered out last week. Several readers wondered whether they still would be alive in ’32. One colleague suggested Stephen Curry as U.S. captain. Someone wondered if Charlie Woods (Tiger’s son) would anchor the American team, smacking 500-yard drives with next-generation equipment.

All reasonable scenarios.

The Bonds photo opp:

R.I.P. Mr. Pebble Beach R.J. Harper

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Terrible news out of Pebble Beach where R.J. Harper, executive vice president of golf and retail operations and the face of operations there since rising from the ranks of golf course marshal, died Wednesday of pancreatic cancer.

Tom Wright's Monterey County Herald obituary included this:

He rose through the ranks during his 32-year career at Pebble Beach Co., becoming the head professional, serving as championship director at the 2000 U.S. Open and general chairman of the 2010 and 2019 U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach before earning his executive position.

“All of us at Pebble Beach Co. and throughout the golf world are heartbroken by the news of RJ’s passing,” said Pebble Beach Co. CEO Bill Perocchi, who worked with RJ for 18 years, in a prepared statement. “RJ had a lasting impact on Pebble Beach, and his smile, vibrant personality and positive attitude and outlook on life will be missed by all and never forgotten. He was a kind, caring person; a consensus builder and true team player; and a dear friend to me personally and to countless employees, guests and people in the golf industry.”

Alan Shipnuck at Golf.com posted this profile of Harper in February this year that is worth a few minutes of your time if you did not read it then.

He is a classic American success story, having begun his career at Pebble as a $5-an-hour marshal before working his way up to head pro and now a senior executive position at the Pebble Beach Co. Oozing the Southern charm of a down-home Tennessee boy and possessing the swagger of the football star he once was, Harper has the rare ability to befriend everyone from resort guests to PGA Tour stars, greenskeepers to captains of industry. In his three decades at Pebble he has become one of the most-connected men on the planet.

Steve Hennessey at Golf World with a roundup of Tweets from across the golf world expressing sadness at his passing.

I'll add more remembrances as they are posted.

Colonial Facing December 1 Deadline Over Its Future?

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Updating the situation in Forth Worth, the Star-Telegram's Mac Engel suggests the PGA Tour is not doing enough to help the historic Colonial National Invitational find a new sponsor as Dean & DeLuca looks to get out.

Originally facing a Nov. 1 deadline to resolve the sponsorship situation, Engel says the club has until December 1st.

According to multiple sources, the PGA is not doing much to help. That the PGA is sitting on its hands is only slightly ironic because it was the PGA that put Colonial in this situation.

It was the PGA that lined up Colonial with D&D. Now the PGA is looking at the Fort Worth country club to fix this problem.

Which is a plausible scenario after 2018.

The PGA is not talking about this, which leads fans, club members and media to draw their own conclusions.

It's not implausible to think the PGA Tour will let the event die given the need to consolidate in 2019 when the PGA Championship moves to May. However, this is one thing when the consolidation might impact relatively new tournaments. But saying goodbye to an event dating to 1946 will be a tougher sales job.

Olympic Club's Lucrative Flip To PGA/Ryder Cup Rota Member: $15 Million Projected Windfall

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The San Francisco Chronicle's Ron Kroichick considers the Olympic Club's grabbing of a PGA and Ryder Cup, suggesting there were lingering tensions with the USGA over repair costs in 2012 and in revenue anticipated for a possible 2027 U.S. Open, which is now headed to Pebble Beach.

He writes:

One logical explanation for the Olympic Club’s change of heart: money. Olympic could earn a projected $15 million from hosting the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship, according to one source. Another U.S. Open probably would have generated between $2 million and $3 million.

The windfall is expected to help finance an extensive renovation of Olympic’s clubhouse, which hasn’t had major improvements in 23 years.

Kroichick also says Olympic Club officials didn't like the terms they were offered.

This reflected a larger issue: Olympic Club officials believed they weren’t offered financial terms comparable to other traditional U.S. Open venues.

None of the principals involved would address these differences on the record, but tension apparently spilled into negotiations over the past year for the 2027 U.S. Open.

As he notes, this likely opens up faster returns to other west coast venues like Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines or maybe even Chambers Bay, all of which garner higher ratings due to time zone differences allowing for more viewers to watch the U.S. Open in prime time.

Not noted by Kroichick but certainly something else to consider if you're wondering why the obsession over Olympic Club, which has slipped architecturally in recent years.

The USGA announced another return to Pebble Beach in 2027 once Olympic Club negotiations stalled: it's the first year of their next television contract.

For the PGA of America, landing Olympic Club adds a second west coast venue to its schedule, a vital chip when the organization starts talking--any day now--to networks about its expiring television contract (after 2019 PGA).

Either way, let's hope Olympic Club figures out how to get some of the character back in its decidedly-modern looking bunkers: 

#8 #olympicrd2

A post shared by Willy Wilcox (@wavegodwilcox1) on Aug 9, 2017 at 12:36pm PDT

 

Page Six: Some Winged Foot Members Want Trump Presidential Portrait Erected

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Emily Smith of the New York Posts says some Republican members of Winged Foot are lobbying for a portrait of the President to be erected in the Clifford Wendehack-designed clubhouse.

Smith says there is opposition, including "senior club management".

The insider continued, “It seems the leaders of Winged Foot do not want to rock the boat and politicize the club, given that the US Open will be at Winged Foot in 2020.”

The President's locker at the club where he's been a member since 1969, no longer has his name on it.

“Each member has a locker with their name on it, but Mr. Trump’s name has been mysteriously taken down. Some members are outraged because there seems to be no justification, apart from, perhaps, too many people were trying to take selfies at Trump’s locker, or they simply don’t want to advertise his membership.”

Too late now!

Whan Admits Error In Moving Evian, Pledges Change

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After one of the great disasters in modern major history, the beleaguered Evian Championship will be moving back to a summer date by 2019 according to the man who switched it, LPGA Commish Mike Whan.

Speaking to Damon Hack on Morning Drive, Whan admitted this year's rain-shortened event has him rethinking things. Randall Mell reports on this and other LPGA news from the interview.

“We will get Evian back to a summer date,” Whan pledged. “It may not be in ’18, but certainly by ’19.”

Whan said he believes in Evian as an LPGA major, but he regrets his decision to move the event to September, with its rainy season and its shorter days.

“The challenges we’ve faced are man-made,” Whan said. “And I’m the man who made them.”

Kudos to Whan for finally coming around and admitting to the mistake.

Henrik: Stop Blaming HSBC For My Mangled Ribs!

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Everyone in the pro games loves the money HSBC pours into golf and appreciates their efforts to convene industry folks to discuss business of the sport issues.

Which may explain why Henrik Stenson is trying to absolve them of blame for his rib injury sustained at the WGC HSBC Champions. After blaming the stunt for causing sore ribs and his need to take a break, Stenson took to Instagram asking for forgiveness of the global bank.

My comment about not being Superman was a sarcastic way of saying that I am susceptible to injury like any other athlete and sometimes these things happen when you least expect them. I was pleased to help promote the HSBC Champions and to continue my string of success at the event and I was never forced to do anything. HSBC is a great sponsor to golf worldwide and I am not happy to see them being made responsible for my withdrawal. The plan as of now will be to participate in the DP World Championship if my body is back to 100%.

He's not happy seeing them made responsible, but Stenson also does not cite any other way he might have gotten hurt. Oh to have seen the communications that led to this plea! 

I’m disappointed to have to pre-emptively withdraw from the Nedbank Golf Challenge Hosted by Gary Player, I was looking forward to this important year-end event on the European Tour. At this point I am back home in Orlando waiting to do a scan on my ribs and get the necessary rest. I am still hoping for a quick recovery and have not ruled out playing in Dubai next week at this point. My comment about not being Superman was a sarcastic way of saying that I am susceptible to injury like any other athlete and sometimes these things happen when you least expect them. I was pleased to help promote the HSBC Champions and to continue my string of success at the event and I was never forced to do anything. HSBC is a great sponsor to golf worldwide and I am not happy to see them being made responsible for my withdrawal. The plan as of now will be to participate in the DP World Championship if my body is back to 100%. H

A post shared by Henrik Stenson (@henrikstenson) on Nov 7, 2017 at 11:05am PST

Behind the scenes @hsbc_sport #HSBCChampions

A post shared by Henrik Stenson (@henrikstenson) on Oct 24, 2017 at 9:09am PDT

Stevie: Green Reading Books Deskilling The Game

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There's a lot to enjoy about Episode 32 of the iSeekGolf Podcast appearance by New Zealander and caddie extraordinaire Stevie Williams who says the green reading books, so heavily used these days and under governing body scrutiny, should not be allowed.

From the pod:

“There’s no doubt that a lot of the information that’s getting provided now is taking a lot of the skill and the art and the natural gift [out] of playing the game."

“I’m totally against greens reading books. I think it’s a skill of the game not to have a book provided that absolutely gives you a detailed description of the green and if you read the book accurately, you know exactly how far your putt’s going to break.”

Match Play! 30 Years Of Tech Head To Head

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Nice work by Laz Versalles to piece together his old circa 1987 set and match it against today's stuff only to confirm today's clubs are better and yet, not quite as fun of a game as we used to play.

He sets up his GolfWRX story this way (thanks to reader Peter V for sharing):

Somewhere between my father’s 1987 dismissal of the crucible that was the Rich Acres Par-3 and Koepka’s brutish dismantling of Erin Hills, golf has become a wildly different game. But is it a better game? Is it more entertaining to watch? Does the technology that facilitates the game for the masses belittle the game’s rich history? Most importantly, is today’s game more fun to play? I set off on a crusade to find out.

Short of buying a silver DeLorean and traveling back in time to 1987, my best bet was to try and piece together the clubs I played as a teenager and pit them against my current set to see how they would match up. A Match of The Ages if you will; Teenage Me vs. Middle-Aged Me. The artistry of the late 20th century versus the power of the early 21st century. This was going to be fun.

And to spoil the ending, though I hope you'll hit the link...

Middle-Aged Me may have won the match 5 & 4, but Teenage Me definitely won the fun 10 & 8. A big part of that fun was getting reacquainted with a game I hadn’t played in a while. A game that was less about distance and more about shapes and trajectories. A game light on predictability and loaded with variety where a good drive didn’t mean wedges into every green. I saw the golf course as the architect had intended it to be seen, which let me appreciate more of its features.