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
The only down side in these numbers: Jim Cramer will be feeling good about himself for bullishly pegging golf stocks as buy opportunities.
Otherwise, great to see golf companies selling stuff, indicating interest in the sport.
Highlights from Callaway's earnings report where the company earned $63 million/65 cents a share in the quarter, compared with $26 million/27 cents a share in the year-ago period.
They do good gator down at the TPC Louisiana, where the Zurich Classic leaderboard features some fresh names!
A close up of the infamous three-legged gator at TPC Louisiana, Chubbs.
Juli Inkster opened with 72 in the Mediheal Championship at Lake Merced CC and enjoyed this bunker shot:
Paige Spiranac presented our nation's leaders with this reminder of how much golfers spend, also noted in this Golfweek item. This is something our fine leaders have rewarded in the We Are Golf era by going after tax breaks for golf courses as green spaces, nearly revoking the PGA Tour and PGA of America's tax exempt status, and coming this year, eliminating entertainment deductions that could wildly impact the industry. So it's hard to fathom why National Golf Day marches on, but it does...
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Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk and former world No. 1 David Duval cobbled together a fancy 7-under-par 65 Thursday in the Zurich Classic.
Now a full-time Golf Channel contributor, the 46-year-old spoke to Ryan Lavner about what exactly he's trying to do at the Zurich, making a run at the title all that much more fun if he and Furyk can keep it going, plus other stuff.
One highlight:
And that could have been the extent of his season (save for his annual appearance at The Open), but he was drawn to the idea of the team format at the Zurich, to the idea of playing with Jim Furyk, with whom he’s been friends for the past 32 years, dating to their days in junior golf. So Duval reached out, asking the U.S. Ryder Cup captain if he wanted to team up, for old times’ sake.
“This was about being with a friend, reuniting, having our wives together for a few days,” said Duval, who estimated that he’s played more than 100 practice rounds with Furyk over the years. “Expectation-wise, I don’t know what they are for me. I don’t get to participate out here and compete.”
First reported on Golf Central today, and explained here by G.C. Digital. Tiger has until 5 pm ET Friday to commit.
As the Houston Open tries to remain on the PGA Tour schedule where it's been since 1946, Golf Club of Houston is out as the host venue.
The Houston Business Journal's Jack Witthaus reports on the potential move to the downtown muni going forward. (A Memorial Park change in operator to the Houston Golf Association has been proposed.)
The move to Memorial Park would return the PGA Tour to a course it last played in 1963. Even if no sponsor is found for 2018, let's hope this leads to a long term goal of saving the event and carrying on the Houston Golf Association's efforts to refurbish the Houston city courses.
We know about the bizarre correlation between Tiger Woods' play and market bullishness, but given the recent market fluctuations Luke Kerr-Dineen understandably tries to surmise what seems to have Wall Street placing buy ratings on Callaway and Acushnet, among others.
The Tiger factor is again in play, but it may also be something as simple as this:
The growth is supported by an encouraging uptick in overall equipment sales as reported by golf research firm Golf Datatech, including a 23-percent increase in woods sales (in dollars) in March year-over-year, and a 46-percent increase in wedges.
Kevin Casey with the list--as of now--for the weekend's Zurich Classic walk-up music.
I'm fairly certain we're all rooting for Harold Varner and Robert Garrigus to make the cut. I just forgot how spectacularly bad this music video was.
Experts are warning, however, that youngsters Cody Gribble and John Peterson could make a charge with their gloriously cheesy selection, as could wily vets Rose and Stenson.
The PGA of America, longtime holders of the Probst Library featuring an incredible collection of golf books and historic materials, has donated the collection to the USGA Museum.
From the press release:
The Probst Library was developed by South Bend, Indiana-based golf collector Colonel R. Otto Probst, whose passion for the game was kindled in the early 1920s with the acquisition of his first golf artifact. Topics explored through the wide-ranging collection include golf instruction, golf club histories, architecture, equipment, fiction, women in golf, travel, humor, literature and poetry. Several pieces explore Scottish history and its relationship to golf.
“The Probst Collection adds depth and richness to the USGA’s library, providing incredible insight into the game’s cultural and historic evolution,” said Rand Jerris, USGA senior managing director of Public Services. “We are grateful to Colonel Probst and the PGA for cultivating this treasure trove of information, which we can immediately share with fans who love and play the game worldwide.”
Probst (1896-1986) began his collection in 1923 and went on to acquire numerous items from renowned collectors through his life, including Cecil Hopkinson and C.B. Clapcott. In 1938, Justice Earle F. Tilley, a USGA Museum Committee member, endowed his golf library to Probst .
Which is all a good reminder for those interested in golf history and in Far Hills, or just searching from home...
Today, the USGA Library is the world’s foremost repository for the game’s history. Books and periodicals in more than 20 languages cover all aspects of the game. Other areas of collecting include sheet music, dissertations, scrapbooks and over 30,000 scorecards from golf clubs worldwide. The Library also contains the personal papers of some of the game’s greatest personalities (including Bob Jones and Walter Travis) and is home to the USGA/PGA African-American Archive of Golf History. The complete library catalog, containing more than 70,000 volumes, can be accessed online at usga.org or in person.
Ryan Lavner reports on a big change to the Zurich Classic's two-man team format this week: alternate shot will be used on Friday and Sunday this year, best ball on Thursday and Saturday.
That means fewer birdies and roars, but the Tour is hoping that the move will create more strategy and volatility – leaders likely won’t be able to run away from the pack, while the contenders have more of a chance with a good round.
I love foursomes/alternate shot for match play, but wonder if it's needed for two rounds in this event. Putting it on Sunday certainly heightens the pressure on teams, but also deprives fans of some golf on Sunday, as Lavner notes:
The Zurich has its best field in tournament history, with 10 of the top 14 players in the world, and those stars will only hit half the shots on Sunday. That’s not ideal for either the fans at TPC Louisiana or those watching at home.
“That’s sort of a bummer,” Billy Horschel said. “They had success last year, but they’re trying to make a little tweak and see if it’s any better. If not, they can go back to the old way.”
Golf Channel's Jaime Diaz explains what has happened to the vaunted CBS Golf Classic series, an early and important part of growing the game in the early days of often cited by golfers of a certain age.
House and I are pleased to introduce you to one of golf's coolest men, Bon Appetit editor Adam Rapoport. A former GQ editor, Rapo is stylish bon vivant without the pretension. He can write, communicate, edit, cook, among some of his talents. And he really loves golf.
Following his first trip to The Masters where he already discussed the food with House on HOC, we discuss a few more Augusta topics, his take on New Orleans food for Zurich Classic week, the state of golf course food and our dream items/F&B essentials. You can check out his Bon Appetit work by subscribing, reading on Texture and following his outstanding Instagram account.
Referenced in this week's ShackHouse: Matthew Rudy GolfDigest.com piece on Halfway Houses, with more on the Olympic Club's Bill Burger, House Of Carbs on NBA food cities, Rapo and House talking Masters food.
Other topics include a little Tiger talk, some Valero chatter, some LPGA/Wilshire discussion and our picks--plus walk-up songs--for this week's Zurich Classic.
As always, thanks to our friends at Callaway for their sponsorship and their new EXO putters referenced in the show. Industrial design nuts rejoice!
iTunes subscriptions are encouraged for IOS listeners, but any find podcast app will do. Or you can always listen here:
Ok so a 1.7 for the 2018 Valero Texas Open final round isn't going to be cited as a sign of post-Tiger hope or even the inevitable and obvious audience growth impact of #LiveUnderPar, but given a very strong weekend for NBA playoff action on TNT and no major stars in the Valero field, CBS must be pleased to have the Andrew Landry win show an increase.
Austin Karp with the weekend roundup for SBD.
On the surface, Augusta National's creation of a women's amateur tournament beginning in 2019 turned heads and seems an aggressive reach into the LPGA's territory.
But in reading Beth Ann Nichols' Golfweek look at the LPGA dilemma in how to schedule their first major of the year going forward and now up against the new Augusta event, I wonder if there is a danger in overthinking this one.
After all, the Augusta event will only be televised on Saturday and the field only play Augusta National that morning. Given that the members will want to play their course, I suspect play will start early and can occupy a similar time frame as Sunday's Drive, Chip and Putt. That leaves the afternoon to the PGA Tour and LPGA.
“They’re an amateur tournament, we’re a professional major,” Cristie Kerr said. “I don’t think we should have to move our professional major because there’s a one-round event at Augusta National for amateurs.”
I agree! But should the ANA move because the pre-Masters week means it gets lost in some of the attention devoted to The Masters? Yes, say many. But there are scheduling issues with that scenario as well, Nichols notes.
What seemed an obvious fix, at least for one year – to flip-flop the Kia Classic and the ANA – has a significant consequence for TV.
Right now the ANA Inspiration offers 20 hours of live television coverage. Moving one week back puts the women’s major up against the PGA Tour’s Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin. That could mean tape-delayed coverage for early rounds of the ANA and a significant drop in the live window on the weekend. Tape-delayed coverage for an LPGA major would be a controversy in itself.
“The major experience is priority No. 1,” Whan said.
Doug Ferguson with the official word of Charles Schwab rescuing the PGA Tour's venerable Colonial stop through 2022. Sensational news!
That's what the Detroit News' Tony Paul reports, though no agreement is finalized. The rumor mill has been suggesting a Quicken Loans event in the Detroit area is inevitable, so for me the pleasant surprise is the selection of Detroit Golf Club.
With two Donald Ross courses and a delightfully old clubhouse, it's a grand and bold selection. There is plenty of space, though it'll be tough to see what happens to the short, delightful South Course around tournament time. For architecture geeks it'll be a great chance to go look at some very special Ross green complexes.
Anyway, from Paul's report, on what sounds like an inspired choice if it all comes together.
The tournament likely would debut in 2019, and be held at Detroit Golf Club, making it the first PGA Tour tournament to be played within the city limits.
A high-ranking employee at Detroit Golf Club declined comment when reached by The Detroit News on Monday.
A title-sponsor candidate would be Dan Gilbert's Quicken Loans, which sponsored The National in the Washington, D.C., area from 2014-17, but pulled out after last season’s event. Quicken Loans had told the PGA Tour that its priority is a tournament in Detroit.
The event would likely replace The National, which seems destined for its final playing in the greater Washington D.C. area this June 28th to July 1st.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
